Here For Your Entertainment
by Prime627
Summary: You're in the Autobot's base, yes YOU, and you're faced with an interesting situation: The war is over and the Decepticons and the Autobots are no more. There's no factions, no separations, no insignias, and it's time to start over, settle down with a mate...so what are you going to do? Did I mention YOU're a character?
1. Chapter 1

**This literally hit me in the shower last night and I wanted to test it out. The only thing is, YOU are the main character, dear reader, and you have to tell me who you want to be in it. x3 That's why it's called Here for YOUR Entertainment. Shall we begin? And this is for the lovely ladies, so guys,** _ **please**_ **don't get offended if you're reading it XD Do I have any male readers? I honestly don't know XD**

You honestly weren't expecting what would become of this evening. You were ready, but were they? You couldn't deny it. More than a few mechs here had caught your fancy, and you weren't exactly sure how to approach any of them.

But first things were first. A nice long shower in the wash racks, which wasn't segregated after the war, which was also nice. Which meant you might have the opportunity to _bump_ into one of your favorite mechs, ah-ha!

You walk in with a towel from the shelf outside of the wash racks that Optimus Prime himself put up. He's so _clever_ with these things, you notice. But you also notice that you're the only one in the wash racks and you vent a sad sigh. Pedesteps announce you might not be alone long, so you hop under the nearest shower head and turn it on.

Steam rises and coils around the ceiling, the sound of water striking the tiles coaxing the need to bathe out of several others, mechs and femmes alike. Just to play a little mind game, you identifty them as they come in, gifting them with one of your award-winning smiles.

Megatron, Starscream, Nightshade and her sister (you wonder whatever happened to their brother), Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Knock Out (Primus, does he even need to shower!?)...

A tap on your shoulder makes you whirl around and its Bumblebee, asking for the bar of soap. You grab it, squeeze a little too hard out of nervousness (was this one of the 'bots you wanted?), and the soap decides it wants to be an air born Seeker.

Nightshade hears it hit the floor and she watches you two, grinning from audio to audio. You assume you're blushing and you mumble an apology to Bumblebee, who shrugs it off, but he doesn't bend down to get it. He kind of...kicks it across the floor and you look at the others. Had you offended him somehow?

Starscream makes a rude comment about bending over to get the soap, but while it makes you blush deep red, Nightshade and Bulkhead laugh.

Optimus' presence in the doorway makes the laughter cut off and it makes your blush worse. He greets you, compliments you on your transition to this new base, and he touches the insignia on your shoulder. He suggests having it removed, and you look around, and _everyone_ else had theirs removed! Why were you the last one?

Knock Out whistles at Optimus and the laughter kicks up again. Someone is doubled over and another mech decides to keep the inappropriate mood going by making a comment about that. You quickly turn your helm in embarrassment (had you started all of this? What is poor Bumblebee thinking?) when Optimus touches your helm. You look up.

"Do not let them get to you. They are wearing off tension. It has been a long time since Autobots and Decepticons had showered together without one trying to offline the other."

Knock Out cheered to that and proceeded to nuzzle up to Bumblebee for show. The scout pushed him back, but he was smiling. Your spark feels like it might implode. Does Bumblebee already have his optics on someone else? You thank Optimus, then bolt from the wash racks before you start to cry. Half-way down the hall, you smack into someone. You don't care to know who, but the one you plowed into wants to know who you are.

"Hey, are you well?"

Sounds like Optimus, but she had left Optimus in the dust. So you chance a glance and you smile. It's only Nemesis, who is a dork at times, but still a great mech to talk to, especially when you're feeling lonely.

"I know it's rough, but you'll figure it out." He kisses between your optics. You've been friends since Day One, of course, so it's not meant as an _I love you_ , more of a _I like you enough to kiss your faceplates._

He asks if you'll be okay and you nod, but then he wraps the towel you had clutched in your servos around your shoulders and he smiles before going off to torture his brother.

You're left in the hall with every option in the world. Where do you step?

 **Boom! X3 I'm kinda likin' this. This is a chance to write while the mouse on the other computer gets either fixed or replaced so I can continue Autobots Assemble, and while I figure out the last chapter(s) of Broken. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 2

You walk down the halls, hugging yourself. You think about all that happened the past few days:

Optimus held open doors for you.

Megatron complimented you.

Starscream gave you his cube when there was an issue in the RecRoom and they had to go to the Storage Room to grab more Energon.

You blush at just the thought of the mechs being nice to you, and then your thoughts are interrupted by Nightshade and Starsong waving you outside.

"Hey, the femmes are allowed to sunbathe. It's healthy for us, you know? And the mechs get to watch and lob."

Lobbing, you recall, was a game the warriors played in their freetime, but now it would be a way for you to find your perfect mech! You quickly nod and Starsong sets a beach towel in your arms. Nightshade leads you both out and they stretch out on the ground, watching Optimus and Nemesis lob.

Your optics watch Optimus and you set your helm on your servos. Nightshade must see your dreamy-optics, because she elbows you and teases you playfully. Then she gets up and skips right up to Nemesis and plants a kiss on his cheek. Is it really that easy?

You get up and you walk slowly to Optimus, biting your lip, who is tossing the lob-ball into the air and catching it again. Primus, you think, he's gorgeous. You step up and stand on your pedetips, leaning in slightly, aiming for his cheek...

And then he turns to look at you and he smiles! He opens his mouth to greet you, but your mouth hits his and he is instantly silent. His optics are wide and everyone is staring at you with wider optics. He doesn't move, but you take a step back. You lower your gaze and he reaches to touch your arm, but you pull away. How embarrassing...

"Child," he says softly, and that slaps you in the face. Is that all he thinks of me? You want to cry, and maybe you will, when no one's staring at you.

You run down the halls, tears rolling down your cheeks. How could this be happening to you? You slam the door to your quarters, but you don't bother to lock it. Who would come into your quarters?

You get your answer in the physical form of a Prime with soft, saddened blue optics. You tell him to leave, you even throw things at him, but he catches everything and sets it down on the floor as he walks. Then he grabs your wrists and pulls you up into his arms.

"Forgive me," he whispers against your audio, and your spark skips multiple pulses. Your tank writhes as though you have swallowed a swarm of insects. "I did not mean to insult."

You pull out of his arms and you hug yourself. You feel childish, but you continue anyway. "I like you, okay?"

Optimus' helm jerks back as if you slapped him and he turns his back to you. You mimic him, wiping at your cheeks. Who knew you cried so much? Certainly not yourself.

"I...am not ready for a mate, not after what happened to Aleta..." His voice wavers and you turn to look at his back. You don't need to see his face to know he is sad. His shoulders are down, he is slouching a bit, and his knees betray the slightest of trembles. "I am sorry if I led you on, but..."

Your spark breaks, not at his words, but how weak and sad he sounds. You can't help but wonder if you caused this. You hear him leave, and then you turn to watch your door shut. You comm your closest friend, Smokescreen, and you decide you need some femme-support and comm in Nightshade.

When they arrive, they are carrying High Grade, and you are grateful, even though you prefer the normal Grade.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Nightshade says. She has her servo over yours and she flashes a sweet smile, her purple optics glittering.

"Optimus is a tough 'bot to crack," Smokescreen offers and he gives you another High Grade cube. He has already filled his tank full of the pink fuel.

Nightshade has steered clear of it. "I remember when I went after Starscream..."

Smokescreen spits out his Energon and gawks at her. "You _what_?"

You giggle. You've heard this story from Starsong, and it's funny when she says it, but you haven't heard Nightshade talk about it yet. The fact that she is so...open is...startling.

"Yeah. I thought we would be the cutest couple." Her wings flick and then drop when she sighs. "We weren't. It took a trine," she says and she lifts her cube of Low Grade.

"Aren't they all grown up now?"

She nods and sets her cube down after taking a sip. "All grown up and out of the base."

Smokescreen scoffs and lays his helm back. He stares at the ceiling. His glossa, you believe, must feel like a glob of pudding. "So yer, like...ssssssuper old."

You look at Nightshade, expecting fury, but she's cool. She leans back and props her heeled pedes up. "I look young, feel old, but I'm not really old. You want old? Take a gander at Soundwave. He's older than the Golden Age."

You are really curious now. Since she's being so open, why not take advantage? "When were you born?"

"During the middle of the war."

Smokescreen spits his Energon out again, but this time you think it's for fun.

"My carrier, Nighthawk, she fell in love with a stupid Autobot Seeker and then got pregnant with a trine, only problem was, one of them was too strong. It beat up on its siblings, crippled one, and wound up killing the other moments before Nighthawk's body decided the sparklings were big enough to drop."

You put two and two together and you reach across the small table to touch her knee. "It's not your fault."

"Who said it was my fault?" She sat up. "Anyway, my carrier dropped us, shoved Starsong into Silverwing's arms and took me to Megatron. The warlord thought I was mine until I smacked into my identical sister."

"Oh, that sucks," Smokescreen mumbles as he lifts his helm. He sounds better, but you'd like to see him walk. You stiffle a giggle and go back to listening to Nightshade.

"We got along, found out we'd been lied to, and I went psycho."

"What did your carrier think about that?"

"Oh, she was 'dead'." She used air-quotes around the adjective and she looks into your optics. You decide you don't want to get on her bad-side. "But she came back as Silence, a carrying femme. She dropped split-sparks Dreadwing and Skyquake, and then she was assassinated in her sleep."

You shudder. You don't like how she is just giving you all these facts without a single shed tear! But you have to ask, because you're just so dang curious. "Who killed her?"

Nightshade's only answer is a smirk, and she stands up. "I'll leave you to rest, mm? I don't think you got any last night, and if you're going to fall for _any_ mech, you need to look as though you know what sleep is."

She jerks Smokescreen to his pedes, and yes he does stumble.

You nod, wish them goodnight, then you roll over. Did Nightshade just confess to murder? Or did Nightshade just tell you that to give you something else to think about? You sit up, decide maybe it's time to ask around about your now-decidedly-not-so-close-femme-friend.

Surely Starscream must know about something, and while you're there, you could maybe cozy up to him. You smile and dust your armor off, feeling a little guilty for jumping onto the Seeker like you are planning to, but you shove that aside. He's not with anyone, and he is probably aching from when Nightshade bolted. You rub your face a bit, trembling in excitement before you leave your room and walk down to the Commander's quarters.


	3. Chapter 3

You knock on Starscream's door and you flash a smile when he answers. He grunts and without asking you a thing, he opens the door and waves you in.

"I know you by now. You want to know everything about the world around you, and somehow you think I can help you."

You sit down on his berth. "Tell me about Nightshade."

His optic ridges fly up and he grabs a High Grade cube. "Nightshade?" He frowns and takes a sip.

"She was telling me about you and your sons and-"

He jerks his helm around to look at you and he watches you. "She _spoke_ about our sons?" He sits at his desk. "She hasn't spoken about them in a long time."

You sit forward with interest as he begins to speak.

"She was furious that her mother had been killed by Autobots, and she took it out on Megatron, who she thought was her father, and it was very amusing to see. But she was sad, and getting worse every day. She was with Nemesis at the time, and he didn't know what a fierce fighter he had. He kept her around his room, didn't let her leave much except to shower and refuel and then come back. She worked in the MedBay for a while, I think. She was a good medic, really."

You move around in your seat, watching him. His optics are a dim red as he recalls what happened and you rest your helm in your servos, caught up in the story.

"She was crying in her pillow when I found her. Nemesis never locked the door. Back then, he was stern, not the playfull mech you see now. Nobody dared cross him, except me." He poured more High Grade into his cube and he sighed. "I...I went in, wiped her tears, and I robbed her of her innocence. She was petrified that I had allowed myself to overload _inside_ her. She was scared, and I was furious with myself."

You tilt your helm a little, picturing Nightshade crying. You can't imagine it. Nightshade is strong, firm, not a sissy femme crying over everything. You drop that thought when Starscream began to speak again.

"She wound up carrying, of course. Nemesis was going on a long trip to find Decepticons, and I stayed with her until the sparklings were born. Three sons," he says with a slight smile. "They were perfect." The smile vanishes as soon as it appears. "And then Megatron came. I was...happy to be his little frag toy."

You shake your helm a little bit. Too much to process. Starscream _left_ Nightshade? She had made it sound that she bolted from Starscream, not he from her.

"She pretended to be dead, turning herself invisible to haunt me. She took a special enjoyment from that, and she loved it when our sons asked for their carrier. I told them she wasn't coming back, but they insisted she was _right behind me all the time_." Starscream shuddered, his wings shaking. "She revealed herself to me when she grew bored of torturing me. I hated her, and I sent her away..."

You shake your helm again. You didn't expect this when you walked in here. You hoped that Starscream was eagerly waiting for a new mate, but he was just like Optimus, clinging to past loves.

"But she saved me, repeatedly, after everything I did to her. She kept us warm during the winter when the _Nemesis_ went down and the Autobots joined us in a march to get to warmer climates. She and her sister walked miles, us on their backs as Predacons, Insecticons, whatever was big enough and warm enough to carry us. She dug caves, massive holes in frozen earth...she refused to let anyone die."

You watch Starscream, feeling a sudden surge of fondness for Nightshade and Starsong.

Starscream buried his face in his talons. "She...kept us all happy. She found a base she was born by, took me to a river where her sire and carrier met repeatedly on Earth...and I remained with Megatron, keeping our sons away from their carrier. I thought she was crazy, had a few screws loose..."

You get up and you hug his neck, interrupting him. He stiffens and slowly pulls away, shaking his helm. "Was that what you wanted to hear?"

You sigh. "I was...curious about something. She seemed to confess to killing her carrier."

Starscream snorted. "Nightshade's creepy-looking, sometimes full of herself and her Amalgami abilities, but she'd never hurt _anyone_."

You nod and get up, dusting at your armor again as you sigh. "Well, thanks for that..."

Starscream gets up and opens the door for you. "Optimus...has made it clear I am supposed to be nice to you, the collective you as in...the ones that are in this base...and if you have any more questions, I will be...have to be...willing to answer them."

You turn and smile a bit. "Just one...who are your sons?"

He snorts and offers a grin. "I didn't choose the names, so..." He hesitates, thinking now. "Deadshot was the oldest...Firefall was the runt...I...don't recall the third."

You frown. How could someone not remember his own children's names? You shrug. "Thanks. I just wanted to know." You consider hugging him, but he's looking weak and worn, so you just pat his shoulder and walk away.

Nightshade is sitting in the RecRoom, and you consider asking her what the third son's name is, but you're a little shaky with the idea of having a friend that killed her own carrier, so you hurry to your quarters and shut the door. Who would get you?

Why, Megatron of course.

You prepare yourself to run to the former warlord's quarters.


	4. Chapter 4

You're not sure what you expect. Megatron has been around Optimus lately, talking and planning to enlarge the base. You walk down the halls, which are large already. Several sparklings run around and you wonder if you could have your own. You trip over a litter of Amalgami babies just laying in the hall, their carrier watching them closely and growling when you go to touch them. You apologize softly, then run to Megatron's quarters.

You smack into his chest before you know it, and he catches you quickly before you can fall too far.

"Easy," he says lowly, tipping his helm as he studies you with his optics. He pulls you back onto your pedes and you touch his chest for balance. "Where were you running to?"

"You. This Amalgami left her babies in the hall and-"

"Did you touch them?" He interrupts you, tipping his helm the other way.

"Almost! She growled before I could make sure they were okay!"  
He hushes you. You didn't notice you were getting louder, and a blush creeps across your faceplates. "The Amalgami are protetive of their sparklings, but they are very close with their own kind. If you do not have Amalgamous' blood in your veins, you are not welcome to touch the babies. Starsong, or rather Crystal in this base, is their leader."

You nod and listen to him. You've always liked how low he speaks when he isn't giving a battle cry. You smile a bit when he touches your helm in a fond way. "Mmmmmm..."

"What did you want to speak to me about?"

You'd almost forgot. "Nightshade. I think she confessed to murder."

"Of Nighthawk?" He sounds like he's guessing, but he's spot-on.

"Yes!"

"She _says_ that, but we have never found any evidence that said she did."

You nod, then look away as the blushing gets worse. "Also, I was wondering..."

"Optimus had sent me to look for you," he continues. "He was worried you were upset or something?" He wants to know more, you realise.

You grit your denta. "Thanks," you growl, and you plan to march right into Optimus' office and give him a piece of your processor, but something holds you back. Unbelievable, you think. I'm still fond of him!

"No problem." Megatron started to walk off, but then he paused and tapped his claws together before he turned. "Starscream knows about Nightshade."

"I already came from there."

"Alright. I know about Nighthawk, but not so much about Nightshade."

"What's with the same prefix?"

Megatron frowns at you for a moment before he nods in understanding. "Tradition. She's part Amalgami, part Seeker. The femme that fell for Amalgamous, her name was Nightbird, and the prefix was carried on ever since. I think it goes to the first born of every Night-femme."

You nod, thank him for the information, and then you begin walking down the halls. Instead of talking to Megatron, you wanted a word with Optimus, and you prayed that your faceplates wouldn't heat up because of it.

You knock on his door and you walk in when he gives you admittance. When he sees who it is, he offers a smile. You don't smile back.

It disappears. "I wished to apologize," he whispers. Several minicons are on his desk, organizing it, sorting papers, sharpening pencils...one stops and stares at you. He looks like a little Predacon and you smile a bit. They always had a soft spot in your spark.

"This is Kickstart," Optimus says after following your gaze. "My main minicon. He was a gift from Starsong, and I have developed a soft spot for him."

 _Ditto_ , you think, but your vocals refused to make the word. You blush and he does the same. Primus, could he get any cuter?

He grunts and wipes at his cheek, as if chasing the blush away. He lifts a file. "I was wondering if you wanted to patrol with me a few times. I usually go out in the evening, sometimes in the morning."

You had stopped listening after "patrol with me". Your helm nodded so fast you imagined a bobble-helm in your place, and you were embarrassed but he was amused.

"Alright. I will see you this evening, in say, a couple hours?"

You nod again and you jump up, wanting to hug him, but for now you suppose a simple servo shake will do. He takes your offered servo and brings it to his lipplates.

Perhaps a hug wouldn't have been so out of place after all.


	5. Chapter 5

When you find Optimus, he is talking to Starsong, who, you think bitterly, is actually quite beautiful.

Her Seeker wings are limp and deformed, but she doesn't seem to let that get in her way. Her armor is sky-blue and she has silver flecked all over her as if the stars fell onto her armor the moment she was born. You shake that image out of your helm firmly, not wanting to imagine _that_ all through the patrol. You catch sight of her one silver servo and you frown. Who was silver? Her sire, perhaps?

"Ah, good. You are here," Optimus says, snapping you out of your thoughts. "I was just inviting Starsong, but she preferred to stay with Nightshade and the other Amalgami. Are you ready to go?"

He was inviting Starsong? You glare at the femme as you nod. How dare she try and steal the mech you are after? Sure you're not as pretty, but still... But Starsong merely smiles at your glare and she gives you a thumbs-up! Was she really trying to steal Optimus away or was she giving you room next to his spark?

Optimus alt-forms, jolting you out of your thoughts for the second time. You follow suit and follow him closely. He comms you.

 _I hope you are not offended. I knew Starsong since she was a sparkling. She and I are like siblings._

You blush, burning up in shame. _I'm not offended. We found her on Cybertron,_ he says softly. You know he's going ot launch into a story. You love it when he tells stories. _Well, Silverbolt, her sire, did, according to his story. She was all alone, crying for someone to come and rescue her._

You sigh and think back to how you came to the Autobots: in a cardboard box with a note pinned to your chest: **Take care of me!**

 _We did not have orphans for a long time after her. And then you came along and changed that._

 _Well, technically she wasn't an orphan. Silverbolt was an Autobot and he was there while she grew up._

Optimus makes a quiet amused sound. _Silverbolt wanted nothing to do with her. He denied being related to her even when we tested both of them. He denied her till his death._

How painful that must have been! You don't have too much pain, not knowing your creators. But Starsong was growing up, being told a mech was her sire and then being told by said mech that he didn't even know her. _Did Nightshade know?_ Maybe she killed her sire as well.

 _Not at first. We knew he was close to a Decepticon, so we tried to contact the only femme that fit the age-range, and that was Nighthawk, but she was already dead. Silverbolt died of a broken spark two days later. Ratchet thought they were bonded. Bonded mates die within days of each other, did you know that?_

You shake your helm, making a negative sound because he can't hear your helm shake. _Interesting fact. Now I know_.

 _And knowing is half the battle. That is what the original team of Autobots used to say..._

You pull up beside him, matching his engine roar with your own. He makes another amused sound. It makes you smile.

 _Tell me more about bonded partners._

 _Well, we do not know a lot. We only know what Starsong tells us, and that is that bonded couples can transmit memories and thoughts and feelings over the bond. Bonding is also a very...intense time. She says that-_

You hate to interrupt, but you're really curious, and Optimus doesn't seem to mind that you interrupt, not like Megatron does. _How does she know so much?_

 _She is bonded. You did not know?_

There's a lot you don't know. You tell him that and he chuckles.

 _You are young, child. You will learn. Yes, Starsong is...was...bonded to a mech she met in the Pits. She could tell you the story._

 _What do you mean "was". Is she not still?_

Optimus sighs heavily and directs you to pull over. You wonder if you've made him mad, but he sounds sad when he speaks.

 _She...she was not always this happy. She was sad, angry all the time. She was forced to fight, even when she could not stand. A mech took care of her, Steeljaw. He cradled her through the bars, they had cells right next to each other, and he would tell her it would be alright. She told me all of this with a smile, by the way, even this next part._

You imagine Optimus doing that to you... You blush and direct your attention back to Optimus.

 _One day, Shockwave came in and took Steeljaw and two other mechs she had grown to adore away. She had already bonded herself to Steeljaw at this point. Steeljaw did not return for weeks, and then she was called into battle. She had to fight the Energon-deprived, mutated Steeljaw, the very mech she loved._

Your spark almost breaks and you wonder if you could do that. Are you that strong?

 _She did. She had to. Megatron, he congratulated her, gave her so much Energon, but when we found her, she was starving, sick in the helm and in the body. She was..._ out _of it, not wanting to do anything. We had to blindfold her to get her out of the Pits. She would just wail for the dead body in middle of the arena when she saw him._

 _And she's still alive?_

Optimus grunted a confirming noise. _She is very happy, very healthy, and eager to love, but she has not broken the bond. We all tell her she is crazy, but she claims not to be ready to break the bond. That, too, requires a lot of strength, strength some of us mechs do not even possess._

You transform and he follows, taking your servo and pulling you off the road and into the trees. You touch his cheeks, which are wet with tears. You hug him close, and he wraps his arms around you back.

"She'll be okay."

"I do not know what I would do without her," he confesses and his body shudders as if he is sobbing, but he is quiet.

The silence grows between you two as you stand there, just holding each other up. And then there is a whistle, and you both turn to see Knock Out.

"Such beautiful bodies all pressed up against the other." He whistles again as he comes closer, edging around any and all threats to his finish. "I'd like to get in on _that_ action."

You blush and you turn to face the medic. "Watch your glossa," you snap, but your voice falters and wavers. Optimus quickly composes himself behind you.

"Ah, you're all Prime's, then huh? Won't even let me have a taste?"

"I will let you have a taste of my fist if you don't quiet!" You glare at him, but inside your tank is knotting itself together and you feel like the "butterflies" in your tank are really firing machine guns around inside you. Or they have morphed into wasps. There's nothing gentle about the sensation in your tank.

Optimus touches your shoulder. "I recommend you leave, Knock Out. She is stronger than she looks. If I were you, I would not risk such a pretty finish."

The medic's optics widen and he wishes you both to have a good evening. He quickly leaves you and you turn to see Optimus. He is smiling from audio to audio. He kisses your helm and his arms find their way back around you, drawing you against him again.

"Better?"

"Better," he whispers.

He leads you back to base and he transforms to usher you inside. Starsong is filling out datapads by the door when you both walk in. She smiles at the sight of you two and you suddenly have a feeling of fondness and respect for her that you didn't have before. Her optics, while her face look happy, look sad, you notice, and you want to hug her, but her sister is standing nearby.

Nightshade's purple and black armor still intimidates you, even if her claws don't. The fact that Starscream fell for her long enough to impregnate her with a Seeker trine suggests there's more to her than meets the optic, and you'd rather not find out what it is. Nightshade, over all, looks like murderer material with her long claws, dark armor, and purple optics that have no other emotions except hate, sorrow, and pain.

Optimus kisses your helm again and thanks you for coming with him. You smile and watch him go to Starsong. He strokes her helm and whispers something into her audio. Nightshade makes a face. Starsong laughs and swats at his cheek.

You walk back to your quarters, considering all that happened. While you pause at your door, there is a tap on your shoulder.

Starscream stands with dull optics behind you. "My son, the one I couldn't remember. He was Sonicsound. I thought you were still...curious."

You had nearly forgotten. "Yeah, yeah, thanks, I'll remember that."

"They are coming by to visit their carrier. Deadshot wants nothing to do with me, so the other two may or may not come down this way."

You consider that, too. Maybe, if Prime doesn't work out or something, there's hope that one of those Seekers will. You thank him for the information, then bite your lip before you hug him.

He's warm, skinny, and trembling slightly, but his arms wrap around you and his lips graze your helm. Then he's gone, wiggling out of your grip as if you're hurting him.

"Sorry," you whisper and he nods, lowering his optics. It occurs to you that he may not be used to physical contact, not like you are. "I didn't mean..."

"I'll adapt," he says, smiling a bit. He wishes you a good night, and then he walks back to his quarters. His wings are still trembling.

You lay down in your berth and hug your pillow, not knowing who you'll pretend it is tonight: Optimus, Starscream, or a mech you've never seen before.


	6. Chapter 6

You sit in the RecRoom, Starsong across from you. She looks tired, more depressed than you've ever seen her before. But she perks up when the door opens and Nightshade walks in, three mechs trailing her.

"Aunt Starsong!" The smallest runs to the femme and practically knocks her onto the floor. Starsong's laughing and rubbing his wings, which makes him giggle and squirm around until he finally releases her. "I missed you!"

She kisses between the red mech's optics and turns him to look at you. "This is Firefall, who has never grown up and never will." She takes your servo, hauling you to your pedes. Just how strong is she?

You get introduced to Deadshot, who is black and silver with his mother's calculating optics. He plays friendly, but he looks uncomfortable around you. Sonicsound actually smiles without being prodded by his carrier.

"Mother's told us all about you," he says. He brings your servo to his lips and he smiles. You blush. Unbelievable, you scold yourself.

Starsong wraps her arms around her nephews. "I have missed this little runts since they first moved out!"

Deadshot finally laughs and tears free of his grip, backing into his carrier. Her touch sends him back to the Deadshot who looked ready to bite your helm off for looking at him. You don't like him as much as Sonicsound, who raises an optic ridge at you. He jerks his helm towards the door, offering his servo. Some force possesses you and you take it.

He leads you outside. "You'll have to excuse Deadshot. He's...he's not friendly, not since..." He shakes his helm. "He'll get better, you see."

You nod and you sit. He sits next to you on the grass. "You wanted to say something privately?"

He nods and he sighs, pulling his knees to his chest. "Carrier looks...more upset than usual. I know we left her right after Sire decided he liked Megatron more, but...we thought she'd find a mech or femme to settle down with and come home to a settled couple and a Seeker trine clinging to her legs."

You shake your helm. "No, Starscream is still bent out of shape and Nightshade sticks to the shadows. I don't think any mech likes her."

He looks at you. "You've talked to Sire? How is he?"

"Sad, but I don't think he and Megatron are together anymore. A lot of Decepticon couples broke up when the Decepticons moved into the base."

He nods and sighs, looking up at the sky. His blue armor sparkles in the sun, and you wonder where the dark blue and black came from. "He'll be okay eventually."

"You still love him? As a Sire?" Your optics are wide. You can tell from the way he smiles.

"Well, yeah. He's my Sire. Deadshot's the one that's pissed. He thinks it's all Starscream's fault. He doesn't believe for a moment the scrap Carrier tries to sell." He flicks a stone and it goes flying. "Auntie is the one who really gets through to him."

"She's old," you whisper.

"They're both old," he laughs and he elbows you. "So old, one of them was in the Pits! Can you believe that?"

"I wouldn't if Optimus hadn't have told me. She's _bonded_ , too!"

Sonicsound laughs and he smiles. "No scrap? I believe it. She's sad sometimes, like...really, really sad. Unexplainably sad. Like Nightshade, only on the verge of tears." He sighs and he shakes his helm. "Starscream said she was stupid for keeping the bond open."

"Well, according to Deadshot, he doesn't know a lot."

"Oh, but Sire's clever." He tapped his helm with a claw. "Just like he was _so_ clever to get Carrier carrying and then run off to play frag toy for Megatron. We would sit and watch them, you know? But I don't hate him...Starscream just wasn't interested in Nightshade anymore, and Carrier was spark broken, but she got her revenge."

"Starscream told me."

He looks at you and you explain about her playing dead and being invisible. He laughs and shakes his helm. "Nah, nah...she took care of him." He stabs a twig into the ground.

"How is that revenge?"

"He never knew why. He hit her, kicked her away, pushed her back and taunted her, and still, she would come and heal the scrapes, clean his wounds, keep him warm...he never knew how much she loved him."

You look down at your pedes and you watch him turn the twig into a doll of some sort with just a few sprigs of grass and three more twigs. He pulls it out of the ground and gives it to you. You take it. It's of you.

"Nightshade is a special femme," he says, leaning forward. He kisses your helm. You blush. "And so will you be."

He gets up, then helps you to your pedes just as Starsong opens the door to call you two in. She raises an optic ridge at you and you feel guilty. She had set you and Optimus up together and now you're showing interest in her nephew. You give a hopeless shrug and she smiles, giving an understanding nod.

"I was the same way once."

You can't help but focus on the word _once_. Once she was confused about who to love. Now she's stuck loving someone who's dead.

You hurry by her, not knowing what to say or do after that and you see Sonicsound is hugging his carrier, who appears to be crying. You move closer.

"I'm sorry, Carrier...I have to go."

"Let 'im breathe, Mom," Deadshot growls. "We'll only be gone another decade or so. Okay?"

Firefall hugged his carrier next and he nuzzled his helm under her chin. Nightshade's cold optics rest on you now and you blink. She looks...old, worn, and completely out of it. But then she blinks and that feeling disappears.

"Then get out, will you?" She nips Firefall's audio receptor gently, chasing the three mechs out of the room.

Starsong stands beside you. "She'll be fine. She's a tough one."

"She has to be, worrying about you all day."

She only blinks down at you, tipping her helm. "Why would she worry about me?"

You can't believe this! Is she playing stupid or is she really? "You're bonded to a _dead mech_."

She smiles, her optics dimming. "I can bring him back..."

"Oh, can you?" You storm away, frustrated. You vow to never become that stupid. And then you vow to always look where you're going when you smack into Optimus.

"That was not very nice," he observes, steadying you. "But I share your concern. She should break the bond, but she is convinced she can somehow make it to Cybertron and revive her mate."

"You mean, she can really do that?"

"Once she is there, she could probably reanimate the whole planet."

"Well, let's get her there now! Come on, Optimus! Why haven't we done this by now?"

Optimus looks down at you with sad optics. "Two reasons. One, we have never possessed technology to get her there, and two, she could die reanimating the planet before it was even fully animated. Bots that have been dead for sixty million years is one thing, but planets..." He shakes his helm. "I will not ask her to sacrifice so much for so little."

"It's an entire _planet_ , Optimus."

"Yes, and it would still need reviving, purging of the Dark Matter...she would have only given it a spark pulse again, nothing more."

You think that over, your shoulders dropping. "Does Nightshade have the same abilities?"

"She kills on contact." Optimus looks down at you. "At will. Immediate death. No pain."

You nod again and you look away. "How did she end up with that?"

"They are opposites. One is light, the other is dark. One brings life, the other brings death. Primus knows what their brother could have been capable of."

"Why don't we have Starsong reanimate him?"

"We do not recall where the tiny thing was buried. She has to know where something is. She cannot simply put her servo to the ground and hope that she does not animate a murderer in a shallow grave."

Optimus kisses your helm. "You are a smart femme, but you are in a different world. Adapt, love." He walks away and you blush.

He just called you _love_.


	7. Chapter 7

You spend most of your time in Optimus' quarters, talking about nothing and talking about everything: What Cybertron was like, how his brother went from scary to playful... You could go on and on.

Starsong came and went, smiling even though you felt bad for yelling at her. She left you and Optimus Energon candies and sweetened Energon. Optimus was especially grateful, taking her servo and drawing her into hugs. You watched silently.

"She forgives you, you know?" Optimus watches you, sipping his sweet fuel. "She does not hold grudges."

"But I feel bad," you whisper. "She didn't deserve that."

"No, but she can take it, and she did." He reaches across and touches your face, his optics softening. "She is as tough as nails."

You nod and lean back in your chair, smiling when he comes around to kneel in front of you. There are so many different ways this could go, and that makes you blush.

He kisses under your audio. "Come. We will shower. You are..." He dusts off your armor and shows you his servo. It's covered in dirt. "You are dirty," he whispers.

You expect him to take you to the public wash racks, but instead, he takes your servo and tugs you into his personal wash racks. He backs you into the stall, flashing a brief smile. You tremble and shudder your optics as he turns on the water. Then he takes the servo-held shower head off its mount and points it at you, rubbing your armor down. Soon he is on his knees, rubbing your legs and pedes delicately as if they'd break if he applies too much pressure. You tremble more.

"I will do nothing until you ask it of me," he promises and he gently presses his lipplates on your thigh. Then he and the water is gone, but the heat of his mouth on your armor remains. He touches your face and you feel like you're melting, spiralling down the drain with the dirty water. Then he steps out and wraps you into a towel, pulling you into his arms. You press your cheek into his chest, listening to his spark hum. It soothes you. He chuckles and you look up. "Such a precious little thing."

And you blush more, ducking your helm in embarrassment. He chuckles more and kisses your helm.

"I have to go," you whisper. "Patrols."

"Consider yourself...off duty." He smiles and lays you down on the berth. "I will tell Nightshade to do a few more patrols. You know she likes you." He taps his comm and leaves you to investigate his berth.

His pillows are soft, and one of them has his scent and the imprint of his helm. You touch it, smiling as you hug it close and purr. The sheets still smell of him and you wrap yourself in those, too. Something falls to the ground and you crawl to see what you dropped. It's a bundle of soft fabric that may have been a toy. You pick it up.

"That was a gift from Megatronus, when I was Orion Pax. It _used_ to be of him. They sold them at the Pits and I..." He smiles, but his optics are dimming. "I loved him."

You already know that story. You've heard it a thousand times, but it doesn't change how you feel. Optimus could be yours now. You're in his berth. You've been in his wash racks. You smile up at him and purr. "I know."

"But he changed, and now I could be with you." He crawls towards you, his optics focused on nothing else. He kisses your helm, face, and then your lips. You hug his neck and nuzzle him, wanting him.

But neither of you are ready. You can feel it in the way he stiffens, in the way you curl away from his touches.

He chuckles and kisses you again. "Perhaps some time, we will not be so shy."

You shake your helm, giggling as you lay down beneath him. He lays down beside you and wraps you in his sheets. The lights dim on his command and he adjusts your helm on the second pillow. And then you are asleep, your digits curled into his chest plates as if fearing he'll run away in the night and leave you all alone.

He strokes your helm, sensing your body overheating. He regulates that, taking off different pieces of armor, adjusting the sheets, fanning your exposed protoform. He keeps everything important covered, but when you wake, those are the only things covered.

"I apologize."

"Don't." You hug his neck, then he gets up slowly.

"I have work. My office is behind that door. Come and go as you please." He kisses you and he walks through the door he indicated. You lay in his berth, purring lovingly.

You can hardly believe your luck!

When you hear voices in Prime's office, you wrap his sheets around your body and you walk into the room. Starsong is crafting metal, the shiny substance moving around like a snake in her servos while she sits on Optimus' desk. He is cleaning gems and dropping them in the mess of metal between Starsong's servos. Without looking up, she greets you.

"Hello," you reply. You stay in the doorway.

Optimus smiles at you. "You look beautiful in that dress..."

"It's your sheets, actually.."

"Even better." He smiles and drops the last gem between Starsong's servos.

You try to move closer, but Starsong turns so you can't see anymore. "What's that?"

"Not ready yet," she says, purring. She gets up, then reveals the tight band of metal. She slides it onto your wrist and she smiles. "Requested by your new mate."

"New mate?" You blush and look at Optimus. He smiles and nods. "Mm. I should thank Knock Out for this."

The Prime makes a strangled sound and covers his face with his forearm, falling backwards out of his chair. "My spark..."

Starsong giggles and hops back onto the desk. "You've made him perky."

You peek down at him. You'd be actually concerned if he didn't have a grin on his faceplates. "I have always been perky."

"You just found a big enough container to hold it all?" Starsong rolls her optics at you. You giggle.

"Precisely!" He lifts a single digit to punctuate the word.

When there is a knock on the door, Starsong drops into Optimus' chair and takes on his physical form the same moment the real Optimus tugs you down onto the floor beside him.

"Hello, Starscream," Starsong says in Optimus' voice. The real Prime is grinning.

"I was wondering...could I have a direct flight to Cybertron? My boys are going there and-" Starscream pauses and you can imagine him squinting. "Starsong, nice try, but Optimus would _never_ smile at me."

Starsong drops her disguise. "I'm sorry, Starscream. That was a mean trick, but why do you want to go with your boys?"

"To see Vos, our planet...I don't care, I just want to go home."

She nods and she moves aside as Optimus stands.

"And how do you mean to leave Earth?"

"My ship," Starsong says. "I can take him, Megatron, whoever wants to go."

"Me!" You jump up and smile.

Optimus shakes his helm. "If you go, I go as well."

"We could visit Iacon! Kaon! Polyhex! Tyger Pax! Optimus, please, let us go!"

Starsong smiles and shrugs. "That makes it Starscream, me, you, and your perky little mate, Optimus."

"Very well. Prepare your ship, but do not tell anyone else about what you are doing." He holds you close. "And that means you, my precious flower."

"Of course I'll keep quiet," you smile and you hug him, pressing against him.

Starsong whistles and you catch the sheets before they drop to the floor. Then the femme is walking out with Starsong, producing maps from seemingly nowhere.

"I can't believe you're letting me go to Cybertron!"

Optimus chuckles. "We are not staying on Cybertron, lovely. It is just a visit."

Well, visit or not, you're going to Cybertron!


	8. Chapter 8

Starscream and Starsong were still talking about the maps when Optimus showed up carrying you in his arms. Now you are seated, strapped in securely while Starsong directs the ship towards the stars. Optimus is smiling and Starsong is whooping in delight, but Starscream is staring down at his pedes and you're scared silent. Then Starsong is pressing buttons. The Earth is beneath you and Optimus walks over to unstrap you.

"Artificial gravity's up and running." Starsong clicked _Auto pilot_ before she joins you and she smiles, unstrapping Starscream, who hisses and pulls away from her as if she slapped him.

Optimus gives you a cube of Energon, distracting you. You take it and smile up at him. He kisses between your optics and he walks to the front of the ship where Starsong is studying a map.

You come up behind her and peek over her shoulder. She has several red "X"s marked and you point to the biggest one. "What's that?"

"Our first stop. The Pits of Kaon."

Starscream looks up. "What's in the Pits?"

She smiles sadly and Optimus gives a sigh. You look up at him. Starsong pits the map up and she touches the X fondly. "An old friend..."

 **ooo**

It takes several hours and multiple naps in the arms of your mate, but you finally arrive on Cybertron. Starsong is the first one out and you aren't too far behind. She leads everyone into Kaon, a statue of Megatron in the middle of the city. She gives it a mock salute, then she walks down an incline.

Starscream twitches as he walks after her. "I don't like it here," he muttered.

"I've never been inside the city before, only in the Pits." She leads everyone down into the Pits, helping you over a crumbling stone stair. She smiles at you, then asks everyone to remain.

Optimus holds you back while Starsong pads into the arena. You want to go with, but Optimus' grip on your arm keeps you still until Starsong's cries echo back to the waiting party. Starscream runs in first, then you pull away, and then Optimus chases you all, but it's too late.

You find Starsong bent over a helm, stroking its face and rubbing the dirt off the body. Eventually, you see it is a Predacon, and that makes Starscream run in the _other_ direction. There are two other Predacon bodies, but Starsong isn't interested in them. Optimus touches Starsong's shoulder and she whimpers up at him.

"Do not revive him. I do not like the feel the Matrix is getting. This mech died when he was crazy. He should not be revived. He would destroy us all."

Starsong slowly nods and lets the Prime pull her to her pedes. You look away to see Starscream pacing and whining.

"Can we go yet? I can feel my boys are close."

Optimus nods and scoops you up, carrying you around. You don't mind it. You like it when he treats you like a sparkling, or like his queen. "Show us the way, Starscream." He looks down at you and smiles. Starsong is last out of the Pits, but she holds a necklace in her servos as if that anchors her to Cybertron and not its gravity.

Starscream is twitching now, running through the ruins of a city he called Vos. You see his sons digging through the rubble, finding blankets, datapads, and other technology pieces, but when they see their sire, they find only anger towards him.

"What are ye doin' here, Sire?" Deadshot has an unusual accent that you immediately enjoy.

"I was looking for you. I came to apologize."

"Yeah, well, apology not accepted. Ye hurt Carrier and now she's cryin' every night for ye, but do ye care? Nah."

Starscream whimpers, looking at his youngest, Firefall. "You believe me, don't you, child?"

Firefall looks angry at first and then he softens. "Dad, you hurt Mama, but...you couldn't have done it on purpose."

"Sonicsound?"

"I only remember Carrier being happy with Sire and not when he took us to live in Megatron's quarters." Sonicsound rubs his helm and sighs. "He's made mistakes, but so have we."

"Ah, ye gotta be bloody kittin' me...alright, Sire, ye can stay, butcha gotta do what we say." Deadshot drops a load of broken chairs into his sire's arms. "Burn those," he growls. "Getcha friends to help ye."

Starscream nods and runs back to you, setting the junk on the ground. While he fumbles for matches, Starsong spits fire onto the broken pieces and watches them melt into slag. Then she works on forming a new chair. Her nephews watch with awe and they surround her, giving her new pieces to burn.

You climb down from Optimus' arms and you kneel, picking up a child's toy. "This was a city?"

"It was a beautiful Seeker city." He comes up behind you, taking the plush toy from your servos. He turns you around and kisses you gently. "And it looks like we are starting to rebuild it."

You smile and kiss back, hugging his neck and hopping back into his arms as you smile. "I'd love to!"


	9. Chapter 9

So the visit was turning into a reconstruction mission. You and the Autobots have been in Vos for weeks now, and Starsong was getting ready to send everyone home on her ship.

"We can't stay," she says and she gathers everyone together. "We're just a servoful of bots. But we'll go back to Earth and grab _everyone_."

Deadshot smiles and nods in agreement. "Yeah, we'll cover more ground with everyone with us," he says.

Optimus stays close to you the entire trip back, kissing your cheek and helm every so often before he pulls you to a storage closet. "How are you?"

"I am fine," you smile and you hug him. "I can't believe we're rebuilding Cybertron!"

"Yes..." He smiles down at you. "You want to do that?"

You nod. Of course you do!

"That would mean that you are staying with me. No backing out, you know that, right?"

You nod again, smiling.

"Then, let us make this official, mm?" He kisses your cheek and audio again, hugging you close. "You are my mate?"

"I am your mate," you whisper. Your faceplates heat up and you know for a fact they're red. "And you are mine?"

"I am your mate," he says and he picks you up, carrying you back to your seat while Starsong raises an optic ridge at you both. "Forgive us."

"Nothing to forgive," she smiles and she gets up. "New mates."

The bots on the ship congratulate you and someone pulls out the High Grade. You refuse, but Starsong hits a cube hard.

"Soon, you'll be bonded!" "And sparklings, don't forget sparklings!" "Awww!"

You blush at the shouts and you look up at Optimus, who promises to take it slow. You nod, thankful. You stand on your pedtips to kiss him and he pulls you against him.

"You are mine..." He kisses you gently, and you know where you belong.

Right here.

 **Done! Primus, this was fun, but I knew it had to come to an end. Hope you guys liked it!**


End file.
